An Antique Desk Goes Two-Tone with Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

I got an email I thought for sure was spam. Here's what it said:

Hi there,

I follow you in IG and love what you do. We are having a busy bee and need to get rid of this antique desk which needs a bit of love. Do you want it?
Pics attached. 

Let me know.
Kylie


I mean...who gets THIS LUCKY?

Ummm...heck yeah I want it!!!

I asked my husband to pick it up "on his way to work..." (Yeah, it was about 35 minutes in the opposite direction, but, well, love is love, right?)

Did I ask for the measurements? Of course not. I gave my husband my guestimate off the photos which was "it's about a meter square." Way off.

My benefactor did say someone would be there to help him move it "down the stairs" which I failed to mention to my husband. Ok, I didn't forget the help part, only the stairs part.

And apparently, in my husband's words, they were less stairs and more of a steep, narrow passage with a sharp turn and a giant window just waiting "to be crashed through." I think his exact words were, "the ultimate trickster carnival ladder-stairs."

Oh hello...did I mention this beauty weighs A TONNE?!! 

But just look at her...

Original hardware, carved accents, burled wood detail and even the feet are striking.

But possibly the best part? Its usefulness. I love a piece that offers not only gorgeous form, but exceptional function. Storage, shelves, drawers...she's got it all!

I grabbed a bag of Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint in Trophy and got busy one day.  Let me sidebar on this for a moment... Trophy. It's a quiet hero. It works hard and is always beautiful. Every time I use it, the result leaves me breathless. It's a warm grey with yellow undertones that pairs well with just about everything. It is a gracious host that sits back doing its job behind the scenes and allowing whatever it's with to shine. 

Back to business. I added Bonding Agent to the Milk Paint to ensure adhesion to the timber with no chance of chippy. Two coats was all it took. I painted one right after the other as the paint covered well and it was a warm day. The first coat had already dried as I was finishing the last bit, so I kept going.

I don't typically rush jobs like this, but I was on a mission. Once dried, I went straight into waxing with clear Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Wax.

Don't you love how sealing brings MMS Milk Paint alive and gives it depth!?!

After clear waxing with Furniture Wax, I rolled straight into adding MMS Antiquing Wax highlights.  I prefer sealing with clear Furniture Wax then adding the tinted wax as it provides a silky smooth surface to work with making application even easier.

Here the left door has been Antique Waxed and the right door is patiently waiting its turn:

Door on left sealed with Miss Mustard Seed Antiquing Wax. Door on Right a quick coat of clear Furniture Wax.

Both bottom doors Antique Waxed, drop down leaf only Furniture Wax

Needs a bit of Antiquing Wax removed and polished

This is a great example of giving something time. At this stage I left it for a couple hours to complete other projects. I came back to it and found the Antiquing Wax a bit too heavy. I gently wiped it back a bit (using clear MMS Furniture Wax) until it found its groove.

This beautiful desk will eventually be used to display Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint range, but until then, we had a pretty little photo shoot.

I'm so grateful to the mysterious Miss Kylie...whomever she is. I hope to meet her one day. Although she may be sorry as I'm a bit of a hugger.

​ The kindness of others is what fueled this project. I strongly believe it is why this desk became  so lovely in the end. And oh yeah...some really great PAINT from Miss Mustard Seed too!! 
​

It's all here...for the love...
Sada